Curiosity Aggravated the Cat
by Garowyn
Summary: A young Kiba and Akamaru have a bit of a nasty encounter with what was believed to be a lazy cat.


**Author's Notes: I do not own Naruto. A special thanks goes to my beta reader, Caorann fridh Bronach. **

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During one bright, breezy morning, Kiba and Akamaru left the Inuzuka compound in search of a little adventure to relieve their boredom. Training with his mother wasn't until later in the day, so that gave him plenty of time to explore and enjoy summer before autumn arrived, because with the changing of seasons came the start of his attending the Ninja Academy, leaving grade school behind. Plus, just being alone with Akamaru gave him limitless opportunities to forge an everlasting bond with the pup he had been given at the start of the summer. "C'mon, Akamaru!" Kiba grinned at the white puppy trotting alongside him. "Let's go look for something to do." Akamaru barked an agreement, and together they set out towards Konoha's bustling downtown.

Kiba's navy sandals scuffed across the ground, kicking up pebbles, as he looked all around himself, taking in the familiar sites. Open shops on the outside displayed jewelry, food, and crafts. There were alleyways and pathways that led to other homes and clan compounds. People of all ages passed him by. He didn't recognize many, but most could tell what family he was from, especially since he was constantly chattering with his canine companion, which earned him amused and peculiar glances.

"What's that? Yeah, I'm hungry, too. No, I don't have any money. Beg? I'm not going to do that! What? Well, you try it, then! Humph. Fine!" Kiba stopped and crossed his arms, frowning at Akamaru, who was now heading towards one of the shop owners. Kiba watched in mild fascination and envy as Akamaru plopped his bottom down on the dirt, wagged his tail, and performed his best I'm-so-cute puppy act.

"Oh, aren't you a cutie?" The middle-aged woman bent down to bestow affection upon the scruffy head of Akamaru in the form of petting.

"He's so adorable!" the woman's teenager daughter exclaimed while rearranging bunches of bananas on their display table.

"He looks hungry. Well, we can't have that!" The older female stood up and made her way to the stack of boxes lined against the wall. "I'll give him some of the pork I was saving for tonight's meal." She reached inside a bag atop one of the boxes and pulled out the slab of meat. "Pia, please pass me that knife. Thank you. Oh, and bring this to the house, will you? I forgot all about it." The woman finished cutting off a piece of pork and re-wrapped it, handing the package to her daughter before attending to the pup. "Here you go!" the owner said, cooing as the puppy graciously took the pork in his mouth and scampered off. "Bye, bye, now!"

Kiba immediately stormed off, continuing on his original path towards the more crowded areas of Konoha. "OK, you were right!" the Inuzuka boy sighed, shoving his hands deep inside the pockets of his dark brown shorts, idly wondering if he should attempt to beg...when they came across a sun-baked balcony bearing a plump cat on its edge. "Hey...Akamaru, look! It's a _cat_," he said, lowering his voice with a snicker.

Akamaru started growling as the cat peered down at them with golden eyes and onyx pupils, reflecting the sunlight whenever he turned his head a certain way.

"Cats are stupid," Kiba remarked, putting both of his hands on his hips, giving the cat a scrutinizing gaze. "You're a fat cat. Akamaru here never gets fat, eh, boy?" Akamaru gave a series of barks and yips. "Yeah? Me, too. Hey, cat!" Kiba pointed at the lounging feline. "Akamaru says you smell _bad_! Cats are stupid, smelly, and--"

"_Meowr_!"

Kiba gasped as his widened eyes took in the shape of something furry and stout falling from the heavens... "Ahh!" The cat landed directly on Kiba's head, sinking its claws in wherever the paws had landed. "Ah, get it off, get it off!" The Inuzuka boy scrambled every which way down the road, trying desperately to pull the cat off of his head, but all he grasped (and mistakenly plucked) was fur, and his hands underwent severe flesh "poking." "Ouch! He's biting me! Get him off! Help, Akamaru!" Kiba wailed as the puppy followed his master, barking at the cat, helpless to do anything.

Finally, Kiba yanked the cat off and threw the animal to the ground, but the cat landed on all four feet. Scratched, bitten, and embarrassed, Kiba resisted the urge to sick Akamaru on the cat; his mother wouldn't like that, although she despised cats just as much as any Inuzuka did. Besides, he would get in trouble for hurting almost any kind of animal, but who would reprimand the cat for attacking _him_ – an _innocent_, _angelic_, bystander? "I hate cats!" Kiba declared to anyone listening.

The snow white cat (whose real name was Mingo) let loose a feral growl...

Kiba took off with Akamaru at his heels.

A few minutes later, Kiba and Akamaru slowed down, panting and perspiring. "Did we lose him, buddy?" Kiba put his hands on his knees, and took a good look at their surroundings. They appeared to have run clear across Konoha – at least it felt like it – as Kiba was unable to recognize where they were. On both sides of the street were medium-sized stone and wood buildings with many windows and people coming in and out of the main doors. "Those look like apartment buildings." Kiba squinted his eyes against the sunlight, and gazed past the buildings. "Oh, there's Hokage Mountain!" he exclaimed, seeing the four faces of the previous Hokages etched on the side of the mountain. "Wow, we're _way_ on the other side of town!"

Akamaru added his own comments and licked the legs, hands, and toes of his owner.

"You know what? That was stupid of us to run away! We're not scared of cats! We're stronger than cats! Right, Akamaru?" Kiba paused to listen to his puppy. "That's right! Next time, we won't run away when we see a cat." Still, he grimaced as he touched the tooth marks on his hand and wiped tiny trickles of blood from the numerous cat scratches on his face. "Aw, I bet Mom will make us take a bath when we get home..."

"Meowr..."

The hairs on his body stood at attention; Kiba slowly turned his head to face the gray trashcan where a bristling Mingo sat.

Akamaru ran forward, proudly showing off his teeth and fangs, barking a challenge.

"That's it, Akamaru!" Kiba swung a fist into the air. "You show that stinky cat that we're no pushovers!"

Mingo screeched and jumped off the trashcan, landed on Akamaru, then leaped towards Kiba with outstretched claws.

"Yagh!" Kiba quickly shielded himself with his arms while Akamaru yelped with a bruised dignity (the cat had showed no fear in the face of the _brilliant_ and _bold_ puppy!). "This cat is _nuts_!" Kiba stumbled backwards, landing hard on his rear, tumbling towards the middle of the road where a man was forced to come to a sudden halt with a cartload of wood. Yet, in spite of all this, the hero of all mousers clung to the raging dog-boy – that is, until a courageous puppy stepped in, attempting to duke it out with the feline.

Mingo let go of his human prey and darted through the feet of the man, en route for safety; that canine was getting too vicious now.

Kiba gasped for breath. "Sorry about that," he said as he climbed to his feet, dusting off his clothes.

The man shook his head. "Crazy kid," he muttered, walking away as fast as the cart would allow him.

But Kiba had not heard the man; the boy was already praising Akamaru for his deed. "Good job, Akamaru! You did it!" Kiba knelt down until his knees touched the ground. "You scared him away!" He laughed as Akamaru jumped into his arms to deliver puppy kisses all over his face. "Ha! I would have had to use that technique Mom showed me – hey!" Kiba gulped as he glanced at the sky, noting that the sun had moved from when he had last seen it. "We better get home or we'll miss lunch!"

Both boy and boy's best friend padded eagerly down the road, making their way back to the Inuzuka compound. Curious looks were thrown Kiba's way as they passed by various shops and services. He ran past the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and a little blonde girl peeked through the window, scrunching her face in disgust at his dirty appearance, and sincerely hoped the boy wasn't in her class at the Ninja Academy in the coming fall.

Kiba passed by the Akimichis stuffing their faces at an outdoor, canopied eatery, and the youngest, spiky-haired Chouji, looked up when Kiba hurried by with the little pooch. "He looks like he's been in a fight," Chouji said between mouthfuls of food.

But it wasn't over. No, it was far from over! The feisty Mingo had one more trick up his sleeve, if it can be said that he had sleeves. Kiba and Akamaru had no sooner rounded the corner where that cat-bearing balcony was located, when Mingo sailed through the air from his hiding place and released his final plan.

"Oh, no!" Kiba groaned. Akamaru snarled. Then, when several seconds had ticked by, horrified cries, both human and beast, could be heard in all of Konoha.

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Needless to say, Kiba and Akamaru turned up at the door of their home, thoroughly irritated and humiliated. Plus, they reeked of such a terrible scent that only Tsume was brave enough to step into the hallway as her son opened the door, slammed it as soon as Akamaru was inside, and faced his her. "Um...do we need a bath?" 

Tsume's nose wrinkled, and she swore inwardly, that if it wasn't for the fact she was a strong woman and ninja, and had her pride, she would have passed out. That wretched _smell_ was too _awful_! "You march yourself to the bath right now, Kiba! I'll get Hana to bring you some water and you scrub yourself _clean_!"

Kiba sighed. "I told you, Akamaru."

Later, his older sister Hana entered their small bathroom with a large, wooden bucket of water. She dumped it in, not bothered by her little brother's nakedness. "Ugh, that's cold!" Kiba yelled, and Akamaru howled his agreement. Hana's three, scruffy dogs sniffed the air as they, too, came into the bathroom, drawn by their fellow hound's cry, and immediately they left – running for their lives! Or just for the sake of their noses.

Hana shook her pony-tailed head, wishing she was still at training instead of breaking for lunch. "You really stink, Kiba. What happened? Did a cat pee on you or something? And you're all scratched up!"

Kiba gritted his teeth as Akamaru shook his fur, splashing water droplets everywhere. "That cat is going to pay..."

* * *

About four and a half years later, Team Eight followed their teacher into the home of an elderly woman. "Thanks so much for coming," Mrs. Ringg Kolld said, giving a toothy smile. "Ever since I had that near heart attack, I've been told to rest and haven't been able to keep up with house cleaning." 

"That's all right," Kurenai replied, offering a brief smile. "That's what they're here for," she said, gesturing towards the team.

Hinata shyly looked away, busying herself with staring at a painting of a lake on the far wall. Shino remained silent as usual, ready to get the boring D-rank mission over with, and Kiba stood off to the side with Akamaru inside his jacket; the twelve-year-old genin mumbled something about an unexciting chore and not being able to do something real cool.

Kurenai faced her students. "Well. You know what to do."

After a few minutes had passed, time found Hinata washing dishes, Shino sweeping the floor, and Kiba scrubbing and washing the walls and floors (after Shino had so dutifully swept them, of course).

_Thump_! Hinata squeaked in surprise as an animal hopped onto the counter top.

The aged woman looked up from her conversation with Kurenai, chuckling. "Oh, don't mind Mingo. He's an old kitty. He won't bother you."

Kiba and Akamaru froze.

"It's that dang cat again!"

"Woof!"

"Meowr!"

And once more, terrified shouts and yowls filled the air of Konoha.


End file.
